Winter Storm, Northern Campbell
- When
- February 2, 12:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
- Where
- Northern Campbell forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 2, 2003
A strong storm system moved across the central Rockies and the central Plains during the morning and afternoon hours, bringing snow and gusty winds to northeastern Wyoming. Rain began to fall the previous evening and then changed to snow around midnight.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS UNR wrote it up.
A strong storm system moved across the central Rockies and the central Plains during the morning and afternoon hours, bringing snow and gusty winds to northeastern Wyoming. Rain began to fall the previous evening and then changed to snow around midnight. Snow increased in intensity during the early morning hours and continued into the afternoon. Snowfall across the area generally ranged from 4 to 8 inches, with up to 10 inches in the Bear Lodge Mountains. Gusty north winds caused considerable blowing and drifting of snow and reduced visibilities to around a quarter of a mile.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Rapid City, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 1, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 1, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD 900 PM MST SAT FEB 1 2003 CORRECTED FOR WINTER STORM WATCH SEE THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOR MORE DETAILS...BUT WE HAVE DECIDED TO ISSUE A WINTER STORM WATCH ON SUNDAY FOR NERN WY AND MUCH OF WRN SD. THIS FITS WELL WITH KRIW/KCYS...AND DOESNT HAVE MUCH OF AN AFFECT ON THE KLBF/KFSD/KBIS/KBLX CWFAS. COORDINATED WITH KABR ON THE ERN EXTENT...BUT WANTED TO GET IT OUT BEFORE THE 900 PM NEWS SO THAT WAS THE EXTENT OF COORDINATION. THE DECISION TO GO WITH A WATCH (VS. A WARNING OR ADVISORY) WAS MADE SO AS TO GIVE THE MID SHIFT LEE-WAY IN THEIR DECISION...BASED ON ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONAL AND MODEL DATA. ANYWAY...THE MODELS ARE FINALLY CATCHING ON TO THE STRONGER JET STREAK ROUNDING THE BASE OF THE TROF OVER THE SWRN UNITED STATES (EVEN A LIGHTNING STRIKE WAS NOTED IN CNTRL CA THIS EVNG). THIS IS EXPECTED TO HAVE THE EFFECT OF A MORE PERSISTENT AND HEAVY BAND OF PRECIP (AND EVENTUALLY SNOW) ACROSS THE CENTER OF THE CWFA. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME 6 INCH AMOUNTS BY SUNDAY AFTN. .UNR...WINT STM WATCH SUNDAY FOR NERN WY AND MUCH OF WRN SD. BUNKERS
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 1, 8:34 AM MST, 15 hours 26 minutes before
SDZ001-002-012>014-024>032-041>044-046-047-049-072>074-WYZ054>058- 071-021430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD 834 AM MST SAT FEB 1 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHEASTERN WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STORM SYSTEM WILL TRACK ACROSS THE CENTRAL ROCKIES TONIGHT. SOME LIGHT RAIN WILL SPREAD ACROSS NORTHEAST WYOMING AND WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA TODAY. THE RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW TONIGHT...WITH SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ACROSS NORTHEAST WYOMING AND THE BLACK HILLS...WITH AN INCH OR LESS ON THE SOUTH DAKOTA PLAINS ADJACENT TO THE BLACK HILLS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS NORTHEAST WYOMING AND SOUTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA ON SUNDAY. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES IS EXPECTED IN NORTHEAST WYOMING...WITH 2 TO 4 INCHES IN THE BLACK HILLS. SOUTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA AND THE PLAINS EAST OF THE BLACK HILLS SHOULD SEE TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME FOR MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, South Campbell
- When
- February 2, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- South Campbell forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Western Crook
- When
- February 2, 12:00 AM MST to 1:00 PM MST
- Where
- Western Crook forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.589, -104.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Weston
- When
- February 2, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Weston forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 43.841, -104.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Wyoming Black Hills
- When
- February 2, 12:00 AM MST to 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- Wyoming Black Hills forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.215, -104.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in New Mexico, February 2 to 3, 2003
- Dust Storm and High Wind in California, February 2, 2003
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, February 2 to 3, 2003
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Maine, February 2, 2003
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 2, 2003
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 2 to 4, 2003
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 2, 2003
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 2 to 3, 2003
- Winter Storm in Utah, February 2 to 3, 2003
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 2 to 4, 2003
- Winter Storm in Maine, February 2 to 3, 2003
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 2 to 3, 2003
More
Every storm in Wyoming in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, February 2003
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5344528, 5344529, 5344530, 5344531, 5344532.